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First Look: SlickForce Softlight Review

4:53 AM

I like playing with light. I like putting up different lighting setups for my indoor toy photography which I find fun and challenging at the same time! I'm super happy to receive a gift from SlickForce Studios and they sent me miniature softlights! (thank you so much!) I received a message from them a month ago that they have this new product and they're targeting the toy photography market. They've sent out a samples from a bunch of amazing toy photographers (including me!) to review and test it out. This is actually a good idea, the toy photography niche is already being recognized! ^_^

Now, the SlickForce Softlights is very similar to what you see on a professional studio, but this one's a mini version. :) If you're already using your bulky lamps and LED lights, getting this baby is such a breather because it's very compact, handy and offers the same lighting you get from your old lamps.

Here's the basic contents of the package here:

The box includes 1 Octagonal light, diffuser, stand, 3 extension tubes (on the website it says 2, but you can remove the inner tube on the stand too :) The material of the softlight is plastic and it's very lightweight, so you need to be careful not getting it knocked down while doing a shoot.

..and of course, it comes with a battery pack. Yes, it's powered by 4AA batteries. No A/C and USB ports to charge it in.

It looks neat with all those knobs and switches but you can't use them. That's just part of the design.

The softlight is powered by a LED light that boasts up to 10,000 hours of usage but I guess that depends on the battery that you use. Here's what the silver octagonal umbrella looks like inside, you could see the 1Watt LED light and it's reflective metallic interior. It doesn't come with a dimmer though, so if you feel that the light is too bright for your shot, try to change your camera settings instead ;)

So now on to the test shots! I'm aiming for a darkroom feel for these photos and I've only used minimal editing to emphasize the lighting on each figure. I've used these types of figures for reference: 1/7 scale figures, Nendoroids, Figmas, Funko Pops and others.

First up is Kotobukiya Bishoujo Batwoman, she's prolly the tallest figure I own. Here's the setup I used for this shot.

Take note that the softlights can be extended to match the figure's height. For Batwoman, I've used the max height (11 inches) using the extender tubes.If you have bigger figures, like, 1/6 to 1/4 scales, sorry this lighting is not enough for you. :)

Next is Kiryuin Satsuki and Trafalgar Law. Satsuki is slightly smaller that than Law and Batwoman but the height of the softlights are still just right.

I like that the lighting isn't too bright, thanks to the diffuser that's included. NO MORE TISSUES NOW! Yay! XD

Here's my two light setup for Satsuki-sama's photos, note the reflector is placed infront of her.

As for smaller figures, I removed one extender tube and it's now 8inches in height for this set. It's pefect for Funko Pops, QPosket figures and Figmas too! I don't have any Marvel or DC related figure, I should've asked my friend to lend me one of his figs prior to this review. XD

Here's how it sizes up to those popular Funko Pops.

I've also included Figma Miku too because she's of the same height for this setup!

Shirahoshi's almost like an official product photo! I'm so loving how the softlights can let you try different lighting angles.

Now, for the last set, I removed two extender tubes and the lowest height that you can use for the softlights is 5inches. That's almost the same height as everyone's favorite: NENDOROIDS!

The softlights is almost as the same size as Nendoroid Elsa!

I've also used my other small figures like Danboard and a tiny Sailor Moon figure.

With proper lighting and setup, you can easily create shots just like this!

Here's a bonus shot of a setup using the softlights and a simple bedroom diorama.

You have an option to remove the diffuser though. Once removed, the cast will naturally be brighter. Since I can adjust the height of the softlight, it's basically on the floor and placing it on this side, the cast lights up the diorama and the figure itself.

Overall, I LOVE this product! It's very light and compact, and I like that it's so handy I can bring it anywhere I want! The lighting from the softlights itself is perfect for toys, I've decided to replace my old bulky lamps with this. :) Also, I really like that you can adjust the height to match the figure, this product is only for 1/7 scale figures and below, but for bigger figures, you need to use bigger and better lighting. The only downside is that it uses batteries, but for something as compact as this, I wouldn't mind buying 2 sets of batteries!! ;)

Thanks again Slickforce Studio for this amazing product! As a figure photographer, I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to practice their photography skills, lighting techniques or if you would just like to play along with different lighting setups. :) Trust me, you'll love it as much as I do! ^_^

This product is on sale now! Check out http://slickforcestore.com to get your very own miniature softlight! They're based in the US so shipping/custom fees still apply.

Scher aka Pinkcheeks is a toy photography enthusiast from the Philippines who loves milktea more than anything else. She's a senior graphic designer by day and figure blogger on her free time. Her passion for bringing toys to life through photography has helped open doors for her to work for major toy companies like Good Smile Company and Kotobukiya US.